


This Pull Is Astronomical

by Cosmic_Myths



Series: Let The Stars Guide You Home [4]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: An unholy amount of metaphors in the first chapter, Diego "it's not spandex it's leather" Hargreeves, F/F, First Dates, First Kiss, Five doesn't like sparkling cider, Grace is an amazing mom, Klaus and Ben are an iconic duo, Lesbian Vanya Hargreeves, Not Season/Series 02 Compliant, Post-Season/Series 01, Sibling Bonding, Sorry Not Sorry, Useless Lesbians, Vanya is a good girlfriend, except Ben is alive, no beta we die like ben, spread the word
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:01:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27308137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cosmic_Myths/pseuds/Cosmic_Myths
Summary: Vanya’s in love. Vanya is in love, and not destroying the world the second time around must’ve been good enough karma because she honestly doesn’t understand how she could get such a perfect girlfriend otherwise.Jess is also in love. Jess is in love with Vanya’s laugh, and her occasional sarcasm, and how it feels as if music dances in her presence. Jess thinks she’s amazingly lucky to have Vanya as a girlfriend, even if she does have to put up with a chaotic family.Or, a 3-shot side story centered around two semi-functional lesbians after the world has been saved.
Relationships: Ben Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves/Eudora Patch(minor), Original Character & Everyone, Vanya Hargreeves & Everyone, Vanya Hargreeves/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Let The Stars Guide You Home [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1917691
Comments: 8
Kudos: 51





	1. I’ll Be Your Safe Place

**Author's Note:**

> *looks at date* *looks at date of the last time I updated this series* I'm sorry this took so long. I was busy with school, other creative projects, and also procrastination. It's here now though. 
> 
> Season 2 isn't canon in this series which means Vanya couldn't have Sissy, so I gave her Jess instead. They're in love, okay? 
> 
> The first installment of this series is necessary, but you don't need to read the second and third installments. 
> 
> Story title is from the song "Astronomical" by SVRCINA, and the chapter title is from "Armor" by Landon Austin.
> 
> Enjoy!

Vanya anxiously looks around the park, two coffees in hand, as she looks for a familiar face. The sun kisses against her skin, and it slightly warms her past the point of comfortableness. She would roll up the sleeves of her flannel to provide some comfort, but she’s currently busy with holding the coffee. 

“Vanya?” 

The first thing Vanya notices is that Jess is also wearing a flannel. She wonders if there’s some universal instinct for lesbians to wear flannels on a first date because she isn’t sure how they could’ve pulled it off otherwise. 

Jess looks directly at Vanya’s flannel, and grins. Vanya finds herself enamored by the sight. She’s surprised at herself, falling this quickly. It’s different than it was with Leonard. This feeling makes Vanya feel like she’s whole; it makes her feel like she’s truly herself. Everytime Jess smiles, or even just looks in her direction, she feels a buzz under her skin that’s similar and yet so different from the feeling of her powers. Both bring the comfort of home. 

Still slightly dazed, Vanya slowly hands a coffee to Jess. Their fingers brush against each other, and Vanya wonders if it’s possible to start another apocalypse from this feeling alone because right now it’s like she’s expanding and crumbling under Jess’ gaze. Stardust is born from her eyes, and Vanya fashions them into entire galaxies ready to overflow from her being. 

Jess takes notice of their fingers, still brushed against one another, and quickly looks away. She pulls the coffee toward herself and away from Vanya’s hand, and Vanya wonders if this is how galaxies feel when they drift apart. Still in sight of each other, but so unbearably unreachable. 

“Thanks for the coffee,” Jess says. 

Her eyes hesitantly meet Vanya’s, and Vanya feels a sudden tug. It’s as if she’s being pulled towards a black hole, but if the result is whatever she has with Jess, then Vanya won’t mind being crushed by the immense gravity. 

“You’re welcome,” Vanya answers.

Together, they begin walking through the park. They make small-talk, and Vanya finds that conversation comes easily between them. There’s an intangible force pulling them together. They’re orbiting around one another, and their collective force cancels out to create an equilibrium of peace around them. 

“Do you still play violin?” Jess’ voice is filled with simple wonder. There’s no underlying tone of false interest, no reason to suggest she asks because it’s the only thing that defines Vanya, and there’s not a hint of worry.

Vanya doesn’t deserve it. If Jess knew the world nearly ended because of Vanya’s violin, would she still wonder? Would she still seem genuinely curious about what Vanya does? 

“I did for years, and there were a few months where I couldn’t bear to pick it up, but I got better. My family helped me get better,” Vanya says instead of voicing her previous thoughts. 

Jess hums, and the sound reverberates in Vanya’s mind. It echoes across her soul, and the energy in her core hums in sync with Jess. Every inch of her being itches to hear more of the sound. It’s amazing, really, because Vanya didn’t think anything was able to have such an affect on her powers. 

_ (Sometimes, Vanya thinks her abilities aren’t really powers, but rather an extension of herself. Sometimes, she thinks she’s just pure energy that’s unable to be completely contained in one small body).  _

Jess looks at Vanya, and for a moment all Vanya can think about is the life that shines in her eyes. Her family is getting better, they’re all healing, but it’s been a long time since she’s seen eyes that still seem hopeful for life. Jess is an adult, but she still looks  _ unbroken _ , and all Vanya can really process is the desire to protect that spark. 

At the next moment, Vanya realizes that she should continue the conversation. Of course, the next few seconds consist of her mind falling into a complete panic instead of actually forming a coherent thought. It takes about 36 seconds for her mind to process everything, and though it isn’t a long time, it’s enough to make Vanya self conscious. 

“What about you? Do you still play the flute?” 

Jess’ smile brightens considerably, so Vanya thinks she’s done something right. She watches with a smile as Jess tells her about how far she’s come in violin, and Vanya learns that Jess is a music teacher at a middle school nearby. They talk for what seems like hours, but the sun hasn’t actually moved that much in the sky, so it can’t have been that long. Time seems to move infinitely slow and much too fast at the same time. 

It isn’t until they stop for lunch that a problem actually arises. Perhaps Vanya should’ve expected this; she is, afterall, a Hargreeves, and trouble seems to follow them around everywhere. It starts when they’re walking out of the park and towards a small diner they both know of. They take a shortcut through an alley, and maybe they shouldn’t have done that, but it’s the middle of the day and the alley is well lit. They’re not expecting to be mugged. 

3 guys, all about Diego’s height, surround them. Two of them have knives and one has a gun. Vanya can hear Jess mumbling under her breath, but all Vanya can really focus on is how they’ll get out of the situation. She has a knife in her boot that Diego’s been forcing her to carry about, but it won’t be much use against the guy with the gun. She has her phone. She could call her family, but the guys would definitely notice. All that’s really left is to use her powers, and that would mean Jess seeing, and that would be risking scaring Jess off. 

“Hand over all your money, and we might think about letting you go.” The guy who spoke has a knife and a scar by his lip. His voice is surprisingly soft, not at all what she’d expect from a mugger, but Vanya supposes she shouldn’t stereotype. 

Jess brushes against her shoulder, and Vanya feels the overwhelming need to protect her. Vanya’s been useless all her life. She was stuck wishing to be a hero while her siblings trained and fought crime. She has powers now, and she’ll be damned if she’s not going to use them to protect the important people in her life. 

_ (Vanya briefly wonders if this is how Five feels about all of them—using his powers to come back and stop the apocalypse not because billions would die, but because he wanted to stop his family from dying).  _

“I don’t want to hurt you,” She says to the men. 

She’s not lying. No matter how much she dislikes them for even threatening Jess and herself, she wants to give them a chance to leave. Sometimes, Vanya remembers learning she killed the men that attacked Leonard. Sometimes, she remembers Leonard’s body, full of knives, falling into his dining table. Sometimes, she remembers waking up with the knowledge that she killed  _ billions  _ over people including Allison’s  _ daughter.  _

She can never wipe the blood off her hands. The timeline might be clean from those moments, but Vanya’s mind never will be.  She gives them a chance to run. She gives these men a chance to run because, even though she’s stopped minor crimes before, she doesn’t like hurting people. 

They stay put. They stand their ground, and Vanya can hear Jess’ panic at her words. Vanya wants to assure her it’s alright because it is. Vanya knows she can  _ easily  _ take 3 men—the only difficult thing will be making sure she doesn’t tear apart the surrounding buildings as well. 

“We got a brave one, do we?” The leader, the one with the gun, sneers at her. 

Vanya sighs, closes her eyes, and listens. She listens to the sound of drops of water falling from a nearby gutter, and she feels the power building up inside of her. Soon, confused shouts of “what the hell?” flood her mind. She lets her eyes open and releases the power. 

It’s soft, she’s barely even glowing, but it succeeds in knocking the men back. They look at her, look into her eyes, and make the decision to run. Vanya lets them. 

“What was that?” Vanya focuses on Jess who looks like her entire life has been upturned. 

“How about we talk about this at the diner?” 

Jess nods numbly, and together they walk through the alley in slightly uncomfortable silence. To Vanya, it feels as if she’s the Earth. She’s the Earth, and Jess is the glorious sun, and the moon has moved between them. Vanya just hopes this eclipse will pass. 

* * *

“So you grew up with the Umbrella Academy, but your father suppressed your powers and isolated you.” Jess stares at Vanya, unable to truly comprehend what’s happening. 

Vanya nods which only confirms that Jess has been hearing her correctly. Jess also lets out a deep sigh, takes a chug from her coffee, and stares at her hands as she thinks of a way to put her thoughts into words. 

“So The Horror—”

“Ben.”

“—is your brother, and you stopped playing violin on the street corner because he died, and the actual reason you wore the uniform is because you were  _ actually  _ part of the Hargreeves household.” Jess closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She counts to ten slowly. 

“Vanya. Remember when you told me the reason you wore the uniform was because you lost all your other clothing,” Jess asks. She opens her eyes to gauge Vanya’s reaction. 

Vanya looks confused. Her eyes move from one side to the other before settling on her. To be honest, Vanya looks confused as to why Jess is bringing it up, but eventually she shakes her head. 

“You’re a horrible liar. Or at least you were,” Jess says. 

Jess grins and nudges Vanya’s feet with her own under the table. Vanya’s face flushes, most likely from embarrassment, and Jess finds it  _ very  _ cute. Vanya’s fate is set in stone; Jess will continuously tease Vanya as long as she gets this reaction. 

“I was 16 and had no previous contact with the outside world. I didn’t know what to say,” Vanya says in defense. 

Jess’ grin softens into a smile. She reaches over to grab Vanya’s hand, but pauses before her own hand gets there. She looks at Vanya for permission, and Vanya takes her own hand instead. Jess finds herself lost in Vanya’s eyes, and she wonders how anyone could live with themselves for hurting her. 

“I hope I was a good introduction to the world,” Jess says. 

“You were the perfect introduction,” Vanya says.

She’s smiling, and it makes Jess’ heartbeat become irregular. Jess wonders if Vanya knows the effect she has. Jess wonders if Vanya knows that Jess’ focus is solely on her whenever they’re near each other. 

“You should meet Ben sometime. He’s been wanting to meet you ever since we were 15,” Vanya says. 

Jess’ mind stops because Number Six,  _ Ben _ , is dead. Jess begins to think that maybe Vanya means going to her brother’s grave, and while Jess would usually be okay with the gothic vibe, there’s something so personal and intimate about visiting the grave of the brother of one’s girlfriend. 

“Are you sure? I mean, we haven’t been dating that long. Don’t get me wrong, I’m honored, but are you sure you want me to visit his grave?” Jess voices her thoughts.

Vanya furrows her eyebrows and tilts her head before something sparks in her eyes. Surprisingly enough, she begins laughing. Jess isn’t sure what’s so funny, death has never really been a funny subject for her, but Vanya’s just laughing.

“Jess. If you’d remember, The Séance is my other brother.” 

_ Right.  _

_ Jess may have forgotten about that.  _

Jess groans and rests her head on the table. She’s too stupid to be Vanya’s girlfriend; Vanya should just leave her here to fade away into dust because people don’t just  _ forget  _ the powers of the only superpowered heroes in history. 

“Besides. He’s alive again.” 

Jess sits up straight quickly. She does so too quickly because she gets a wave of dizziness at the motion. Everytime Jess thinks she understands something, Vanya throws another curve ball at her. She wonders if she’s ever going to understand the Hargreeves family.

Jess stares intently at Vanya in an attempt to convey her confusion. The universe seems to have gotten bored from tormenting her because Vanya gets the message. 

“My brother Five, The Boy, figured out a way to make a new body for him,” Vanya says. 

Apparently the universe is still fucking with Jess because she doesn’t understand  _ anything  _ Vanya just said. The Boy, the sibling who’d been  _ missing _ for  _ 17 years _ ,  _ created _ a new  _ body  _ for the previously  _ dead _ sibling. Nothing wrong with that sentence. At this point, Jess has given up on even trying to make sense of what Vanya is saying. 

“I thought The Boy went missing a long time ago. Has he returned?” Jess questions. 

“Oh! Yeah. He came back on March 24th, 2019,” Vanya explains. 

Jess is trying to figure out how the media didn’t find out he’d been back. It’s been  _ months _ , and seeing as the mystery of the disappearance of The Boy is still talked about, she’s surprised it’s not common knowledge that he’s back. Still, she supposes it’s not like people would recognize him on the streets. Afterall, it has been 17 years. 

“You know, I watched a buzzfeed unsolved episode on him once.” 

As soon as the words are out of her mouth, she regrets them. She doesn’t think it’s appropriate to tell someone about the buzzfeed unsolved episode centered around their formerly missing brother, but she can’t take it back now. Thankfully, Vanya smiles at her comment. 

“Diego, Klaus, and I watched it together at one point. It was a bit hard to watch, but it’s okay now because he’s back,” She says. 

There’s something in her eyes that Jess can’t name. It seems to be something close to relief and fondness, but there’s sadness lurking with them. There’s a heavy weight mixing with the other emotions that can only come from years of pain. Jess wishes she could take it all away, but all she can do now is make sure she  _ never  _ hurts Vanya. 

“I bet the public would have a field day if they knew Five returned in his 13-year old body,” Vanya says.

_ What.  _

“Vanya. Your life makes no sense.” Jess isn’t even exaggerating. She honestly cannot comprehend what seems to be normal things in Vanya’s family. God, she hopes she’ll even be able to have a place in Vanya’s chaotic life. 

Vanya slowly brings a hand up to her face. She lets out a shuddering breath, and Jess worries she’s done something to upset her. Jess bites her lip, unsure what to do, while Vanya intensely stares at the table. 

“Oh my god, you’re right. I hadn’t even realised. I—” Vanya trails off; her gaze is still focused on the table. 

Jess, surprisingly, begins laughing. There’s no ill intent on her part, but the entire situation is so different from her normal day to day life that she can’t help but laugh. Vanya stares at her in absolute (mock)  _ betrayal _ , and it just serves to make Jess laugh more. 

Vanya crosses her arms in defiance, and Jess begins muttering half-hearted apologies while she struggles to catch her breath. Vanya is shaking her head, but she has a small smile on her face, so Jess is sure everything’s okay. Everything’s better than okay, really, because Vanya’s eyes are lit up with joy, and Jess swears she’s never seen anyone look so beautiful. 

When Jess leans forward, and when Vanya meets her in the middle, it might just be the most magical kiss Jess has experienced. 

* * *

Vanya leans into Jess’ side as they walk down the street. The sun is still dancing on their skin, and they’re both still riding the cloud of euphoria after they  _ kissed.  _ At the moment, they’re laughing over vines they’ve both seen. They passed a sign that said “Road Work Ahead,” and they’ve been laughing for at least 5 minutes. 

“Look! Vanya! An American Flag!” Jess says suddenly. 

Vanya looks up, and sure enough, an American flag is waving in the slight breeze. Upon seeing it, Vanya instinctively mumbles, “We’re in America? We’re American?! I thought we were lesbian.” 

Jess hears her and instantly falls into another round of laughter which leaves Vanya beaming. Vanya has literally heard the symphony of the universe, but she still hasn’t heard anything as beautiful as Jess’ laugh. She’s never heard anything as beautiful as Jess’ heartbeat, her soft breaths, and the subconscious snapping of her fingers. 

“You’re staring,” Jess softly says. 

Her laughter has quieted down, and now she’s just staring into Vanya’s eyes. Vanya flushes and stammars an apology. Jess just smiles, and this time she leans into Vanya’s side. Vanya savors the moment; she basks in it. 

They continue walking down the street, but this time they whisper soft phrases to each other. The world seems lighter, and they exist in their own little bubble. Vanya’s barely aware of anything outside of her and Jess. At least, until Jess pulled her attention to a bookstore. 

The building is small and tucked between 2 buildings; Vanya’s never even noticed it before. Jess says it’s her favorite bookstore, so the two of them walk in. A small bell chimes over head, and something in Vanya stirs at the noise—it’s a nice feeling. It’s just as small on the inside, and the shelves are packed tightly together. The place is cozy. The smell of coffee hangs faintly in the air. 

Jess pulls away from Vanya and moves closer to the books. Vanya feels cold due to the absence of Jess’ presence, but her attention is soon drawn away to a different part of the shop. She turns her focus from Jess and looks at a shelf about 2 yards away from the one Jess is at. Vanya isn’t sure how she noticed it, but she sees the spine of her book amongst the other books. 

She takes a step forward. 

And another.

And soon she’s reached the shelf. She pulls the book off the shelf and stares at it in wonder. She traces over the title carefully, it’s the third book in the series, before she opens it. Her heart aches at the familiar dedication page, and she takes a deep breath to remind herself that Ben is back and not dead. 

“Tales of Aerolis: Equilibrium. One of my favorite’s. You wrote it, didn’t you?”

Jess is looking over her shoulder, not a hard thing considering how short Vanya is, but Vanya doesn’t startle; she’d already heard Jess walking over. Still, Vanya’s a bit surprised Jess knows she wrote the fictional series, but there's no point in lying, so Vanya nods her head. 

“You know, most people tie me to my autobiography,” Vanya says. 

Jess stares at her blankly. Vanya’s not used to that reaction to her autobiography, so she just stares at Jess as well. She watches as understanding slowly appears on Jess’ face, and then, oddly enough, Jess brings a hand up to her face and groans. 

“Of course! I can’t believe I never made the connection!” She says. 

Vanya tilts her head and waits for Jess to continue. 

“How did I not connect the dots sooner? You always wore the uniform, you published Extra-Ordinary under the name Vanya, and it all pointed to you being the same person! It’s even the reason I recognized in that café! You looked familiar, but I didn’t know why, and when the name ‘Vanya’ came to me, Vanya Vasiliev was the first thing that came to my mind, but you’ve been the same person all along.” 

Vanya isn’t entirely sure what to do in this situation, so she just places her hand on Jess’ shoulder. Jess leans into the touch and sighs. She looks up at Vanya and smiles, so Vanya smiles back. 

“It’s okay. I did a pretty good job at separating the two parts of my life,” Vanya says. 

“Not really, but it makes me feel better, so I’ll agree with you.” There’s a playful tone in Jess’ words which causes Vanya to lightly laugh. 

They browse through the books in comfortable silence for around 20 minutes. Vanya picks up a lot, even reads a few pages of a lot, but ultimately decides not to get anything. Jess doesn’t get anything either. As they’re walking out of the store, Jess asks if Vanya wants to go to her place. 

“I would love to,” Vanya responds. 

Together they walk to Jess’ house and, if they stay up all night watching movies, then it just shows what a perfect date it was. 

  
  



	2. Now We’re Ready to Be Whole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben meets Jess. Jess meets Ben. Good things happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to post this chapter this morning, but then I didn't finish it before my d&d session, so I was like "okay, I'll finish it after". Well, I did, but then we(my mom and I) were going to lighten my hair to dye it, so that was in the middle of me getting ready to publish the chapter, but the fumes made me black out, so I ended up having to go to the Hospital, so now here we are. 9PM where I am, and I'm finally ready to post the chapter. 
> 
> Title is from the song "Infinity" by Johan Glossner.   
> I hope you enjoy :)))

Ben paces around the room anxiously. He can’t help it. At first, the entire family planned on going to the movies. Then Allison went back to LA because Claire sprained her ankle at school, and Allison needed to go see her. Thankfully, she’d already won some custody rights back, so she was able to visit Claire unsupervised. The entire family understood this was important, so it was okay. 

Then, Diego couldn’t go. Being a private investigator meant his schedule could be flexible, but he said the case was really time sensitive, so he had to decline. So their family movie night wasn’t turning out great, but they still had 5 members of the family available. Except Five had college stuff, and even though he promised to make it up to  _ specifically  _ him and Vanya, Ben still couldn’t help but be upset that Five wasn’t coming. Then Klaus got sick, and Luther volunteered to stay with him, so it was really just Vanya and Ben, 6 and 7, the last two lonely and quiet numbers. 

The good news is, Vanya was able to give away the tickets. It’s not like they didn’t have plenty of money to throw away, but it would be a shame for the tickets to go to waste. Vanya gifted 4 of the tickets to 4 of her students, and then she informed him that she’d invited Jess to come as well. 

“What if I don’t make a good impression?” Ben asks Klaus, who’s laying in bed. 

Ben stops pacing the room momentarily and looks to find Klaus staring back at him with a puzzled face. Of course, after spending 13 years of being dead with Klaus, he and Ben are able to have conversations with looks alone. Unfortunately, their secret language doesn’t seem to include the word “girlfriend.” 

“I’m meeting Jess, and I’m worried she’ll dislike me, and then Vanya’s life will be ruined,” Ben explains. 

“Oh Benny-Boo. How could anyone dislike you?” Klaus says before he begins laughing because of the rhyme. Ben rolls his eyes, but he still has to bite his cheek to keep himself from laughing alongside Klaus. 

“Jess is Vanny-Dearest’s girlfriend, right?” Klaus asks. 

Ben nods his head, and he can’t help the anxiety that creeps back into his veins. When he’s with Klaus, he’s insecurities seem to wash away, but Ben is still reminded of everything that can possibly go wrong when he meets Jess: he killed as a kid, he used to be dead, he wears so much black he looks emo, and he’s horrible with human interaction. To put it bluntly, Ben is doomed. 

He feels like the walls are closing in. He’s never really been claustrophobic, but sometimes, if he panics enough, he remembers the infinite darkness that seemed to wrap around him like a blanket in those horrid moments before Klaus summoned his ghost. It doesn’t feel the same,  _ nothing  _ will ever feel the same as dying, but sometimes he feels like something similar is closing in. 

“Ben!” 

Klaus’ voice snaps Ben out of whatever panic-induced haze he’d managed to get himself in. Klaus is propped up on his elbow, and he’s looking at Ben with concern. His hair, now around shoulder-length, falls in front of his eyes, so the image is a bit obscured, but Ben can still see the worry swimming in those previously dull eyes. 

Despite what many might say, Klaus has always been one of the kindest siblings. He’s always been in tune with other people’s emotions, and Ben was always a bit surprised his power wasn’t empathy. When Klaus broke his jaw, he barely acted affected, yet when Five broke his leg from a failed jump, Klaus was affected deeply. He cried for Five. He cried because he knew it must’ve hurt, and he knew their father would be mad. When a tendon in Vanya’s arm got cut because she was used as target practice for Diego, Klaus stayed with her. Klaus looked at her with sad eyes, and he helped her take care of her violin. Klaus got terrible nightmares, but he still stayed up and comforted Ben when Ben’s nightmares got to be too much. 

Five, Six, and Seven. A trio of best friends in childhood; all of them on the receiving end of Klaus’ kindness, but none of them ever included Number Four in their group meet-ups. Ben feels terrible. Ben feels terrible a lot when it comes to Klaus. 

“Ben,” Klaus’ voice is softer this time, yet it somehow sounds almost louder. 

Ben’s mind begins to process the world around him again, and he’s surprised to find Klaus standing right in front of him. Klaus is pale, sweaty, and looks like he could pass out at any moment, but he still places a hand on Ben’s shoulder and makes sure  _ Ben  _ is okay. 

“I’m here. You shouldn’t even be up,” Ben mumbles as he slowly guides Klaus back to his bed. 

Klaus hisses objections, but Ben doesn’t really hear them. His mind filters them out until he’s left with only his own thoughts again. 

“I’m sorry,” He says. 

“For what?” Klaus asks. 

“Everything.” 

There’s a heavy silence in the air. It contains unspoken emotions, and while the Hargreeves were used to this atmosphere following them like a shadow, but recently everything has been getting better. Still, it seems as if remnants of the cloak stick to them relentlessly. 

“Uh, Ben?” 

Simultaneously, Ben and Klaus turn to look at Luther who stands awkwardly at the entrance to the room. Klaus cheerfully waves, and Ben offers a small wave of his own. Luther gives a brief smile in return. 

“I think Vanya is here? I heard a knock on the door,” Luther states. 

Klaus and Ben share a look, the previous tension briefly pushed to the side, and Klaus raises an eyebrow. Ben shrugs in response. Klaus turns his attention back to Luther while Ben keeps his focus split between the two of them. 

“And you didn’t answer the door?” Klaus asks. 

Somehow, Luther seems to get even more awkward. He seems to shrink in on himself and keeps his gaze to the floor. Ben frowns at the reaction; he notices that Klaus frowns as well. Luther mumbles something under his breath, and even though Ben strains his ear to hear him, Ben still catches none of what Luther said. Judging by the look on Klaus’ face, he didn’t catch it either. 

“Well, Vanya’s bringing her girlfriend, right?” Luther speaks in response to Ben and Klaus’ prying eyes. “I didn’t want to scare her away…” Luther continues quietly. 

Ben’s heart aches for his brother. There are so many reasons Ben resents Reginald, and this is one of them. He reaches out and places a hand on Luther’s arm. Ben takes a deep breath and looks Luther directly in the eyes. 

“I understand you’re nervous to meet her, I am too. I’m not telling you to meet her today, but, from what I’ve heard from Vanya, I don’t think you’d scare her away. If anything, Five would have a better chance of scaring her.” The three brothers take a moment to chuckle at that before Ben continues. “You’re a good person Luther. You’ve made mistakes, we all have, but ultimately you’re a good person.” 

Luther rapidly blinks and nods his head. Ben gives him a small smile before hugging him. Luther’s arms hang in the air for a few moments before he hesitantly brings them around Ben. Everyone in this family had been wronged by their father, and Ben wants to make sure all his siblings know they’re still good people. 

“Aww, that’s so swe—” Klaus begins before he’s cut off by the sound of retching. 

Ben grimaces and pulls away from Luther. Sure enough, Klaus is hurling into the trash. Ben still isn’t sure what made Klaus sick, but he hopes he’ll get better soon. Luther lightly taps his arm. Ben reluctantly turns away to Klaus and focuses on Luther. 

“Go. I’ll take care of him,” Luther whispers. 

Ben smiles and mouths a ‘thank you’ to Luther. He gives Klaus a ‘get better soon’ before he walks out of the room and down the stairs. His anxiety is crawling back up into his chest again, but he does his best to push it down. He just needs to believe it will all be okay. 

* * *

“What if he doesn’t like me?” 

Vanya frowns at her girlfriend’s antics. Jess is usually so confident, so it’s unusual to see her this nervous about something. This being said, Vanya struggled with anxiety and low self esteem for years; she was drugged into these things, but she still understands what it’s like. She reaches for Jess’ hand and squeezes. 

“He’s going to love you,” Vanya says. 

Jess sends her a smile that could pass as a grimace before shrugging her shoulders. Vanya frowns once more before looking at something to cheer up Jess. Her eyes land on a small ice cream shop. Something inside Vanya sparks. None of the Hargreeves siblings actually had ice-cream until they were 13 and decided to order it at Griddy’s. Vanya has had it since, but there was a long stretch of time where she just didn’t have the money to spend on ice cream. Now though? Well, now’s a different story.

“Do you like ice cream?” Vanya asks, motioning to the ice cream shop. 

Jess nods slowly. She looks confused, but she looks less anxious now, so Vanya’s counting it as a win. Vanya begins pulling her to the ice cream shop, and Jess allows herself to be pulled along. 

“I’ll pay. What’s your favorite flavor?” Vanya asks as they get closer. 

“I like mint chocolate chip,” Jess answers. 

Vanya hums as she opens the door to the shop. She’s vaguely aware that she’s matched the frequency of her humming to the frequency of the bell overhead, but she pushes it to the back of her mind; she has more important things to think about. Cheering up her girlfriend is one example of said important things. 

The shop is sparsely populated. There are two other customers enjoying their ice-cream in the shop, and the girl at the counter looks up from her phone at the sound of the bell. She quickly pockets her phone and puts on a smile. 

“Hi! How may I help you?” She asks in that too-cheerful voice customer service employees tend to have. 

“Hi! I’d like one vanilla ice cream and one mint chocolate chip ice cream both in sugar cones!” Vanya says in an equally fake-cheerful voice. 

Jess let’s out a soft whistle then snorts. Vanya turns to look at her while their ice-creams are made. Jess turns to look at her as well, and Vanya just tilts her head to show her confusion. The two of them have a small conversation without words until Jess finally speaks. 

“You got your customer service voice down.” 

Vanya lets out a little laugh. The fact is, she did work part-time in customer service during college; it was horrible. Because of her pills, it was already hard to show and feel emotions, but she was expected to be cheerful in customer service. She practiced her customer service voice so much, but in the end she still got fired. 

“I have some experience,” She says. 

“Don’t we all?” Jess says back. 

Their attention is called away when their ice-creams are handed to them. Vanya pays quickly, and the two of them are on their way. Vanya takes bites of Jess’ ice cream, and Jess does the same to hers. They talk in soft voices full of an emotion so powerful that Vanya is scared to even name it.  _ (Love. It’s love. Different than the love for her family, not weaker or stronger, but equally as powerful.  _ ~~_ Better than what she felt for Leonard _ ~~ _ ).  _

Currently, they’re discussing the possibility of playing a violin and flute duet. The current song in question is “Once Upon a December” from the movie Anastasia because they both love it. Vanya watched it for the first time after she moved out; she was introducing herself to Disney movies and other animated movies since Reginald never allowed them to watch movies, and she’d stumbled onto Anastasia. Grace made sure the children knew a lot about the cultures they came from, and they’d been taught a lot of history, so Vanya was familiar with the story of Princess Anastasia. 

When she’d first watched it, she cried. A part of her cried because, in the movie, all of Anastasia’s siblings were killed, and Vanya could relate to losing a sibling. Vanya also felt drawn to the movie. Maybe it was because she’s Russian, or maybe part of her related Anastasia in some ways, but it soon became one of Vanya’s favorite movies. As it turns out, it’s one of Jess’ favorites too. 

“Does this mean you’re Anastasia and I’m Dimitri? We met briefly during childhood, but great loss separated us until we met again as adults?” Jess asks. 

Vanya stops to think about it. There certainly are parallels, no matter how faint they are. They did meet briefly when they were younger, and Vanya did have certain parallels, but parts of Dimitri reminded her too much of Leonard. Sure, Dimitri is a good character, and she actually kind of liked him when she first watched the movie, but he lied and manipulated Anastasia so he could make a profit. He’s nowhere near the level of Leonard, at least he was a genuinely nice guy, but she still can’t bear to compare Jess to someone who reminds her of Leonard. 

“Nah, you’re the hot girl Anastasia later met, but they couldn’t include it because of heteronormativity,” Vanya says instead of unpacking all her thoughts. 

Jess laughs, and it doesn’t heal all of Vanya’s trauma, but for now it gives Vanya something else to focus on. Jess’ laugh is definitely one of Vanya’s favorite sounds, and she can’t stop her powers from leaking out. It’s nothing harmful, just playful wisps of wind flying through Jess’ hair in response to Vanya’s happiness. 

Jess laughs even more in response. Vanya can’t stop smiling, and it’s a weird sensation, smiling this much after over two decades of muted emotions and brief half smiles, but Vanya’s been doing it a lot ever since she stopped her pills. 

“Oh. This is it, right?” Jess’ laughter halts as she asks the question. 

Sure enough, they’re in front of the gates of the Umbrella Academy. There’s been some redecorating, there’s flower beds hanging from the windows, but most of the redecoration has happened inside. Still, the identifiable Umbrellas in the glass remain the same. 

Vanya nods, and together they go up to knock on the door. Vanya would usually just enter the building unannounced, but she’s walked into some… interesting… scenes, and she wouldn’t want Jess to have to bleach her eyes out, so instead they knock. Vanya hears the sound echo through the house, though because of some of the remodeling, it echos less than before. She hears footsteps stop before starting up again, and she’s able to identify them as Luther. She also hears Grace’s footsteps coming closer, so she decides to tune out Luther’s. 

The door opens with a soft click, and Grace’s smiling face greets them. When Grace sees who it is, her smile becomes more genuine. She may be an android, but she’s her own person, and Vanya understands that now. 

“Vanya! It’s so good to see you!” 

Grace cups Vanya’s cheek before she pulls her into a hug. Vanya sinks into the hug and is reminded of all the fond memories she has with her mother. They pull away, and Grace’s eyes light up when they land on Jess. 

“You must be Jess! It’s so nice to meet Vanya’s girlfriend,” Grace says. 

Jess smiles at Grace, and they shake hands. If Jess is surprised by how young Grace looks, then she doesn’t show it. Vanya had told Jess about her robot mom and chimp butler, but she’s still happy to see that there isn’t much discomfort in Jess’ face. 

“Would you like to come in? I’ve made cookies,” Grace says cheerfully. 

Jess perks up at the mention of cookies and eagerly nods her head. Then, she stops and looks at Vanya with a questioning look. Vanya, unable to deny Jess, nods to her mother and motions for Jess to walk inside. 

Vanya smiles as she takes in the new interior of the house. The basic layout is still the same, but the lighting is much better and that alone is enough to brighten the atmosphere. The walls are a light shade of blue with various pictures hung up, and multiple vases of flowers line the hallway. The entire house is lighter in a way. The walls that suffocated them in their childhood have been reformed, and this new model of the house only holds good memories. 

Jess trails behind her, and her eyes linger on some photos. She looks bashful when she realises Vanya’s noticed, but Vanya doesn’t mind Jess looking at the pictures. If anything, Vanya’s happy that Jess is enjoying the house. 

Grace motions for them to wait, and together they stand in the foyer. Vanya walks up to one of the vases which holds an assortment of carnations, and she carefully takes a purple one out. She looks back at Jess, and decides the color will fit her outfit — she’s wearing a yellow shirt, black jeans, and a purple cardigan. 

“Jess,” Vanya calls. 

Jess turns her attention to Vanya, and when she sees the flower in her hands, she smiles. She walks closer, and Vanya puts the flower into her hair. Jess smiles softly before reaching around Vanya to the vase. She pulls out a matching purple carnation, kisses Vanya lightly on the nose, and puts the flower into the front pocket of Vanya’s shirt. 

“Vanya! I brought the cookies.” 

Grace is standing there with a basket which, presumably, holds the cookies. Behind her, Ben stands with his hands in his pockets. Looking at him, Vanya briefly wonders why everyone teases Diego when Ben wears equally as much black, but the thought is soon overcome with the happiness of seeing him. 

“Hi,” He says with a small wave. “I’m Ben. I’ve heard a lot about you.” 

Jess opens and closes her mouth a couple of times before she responds with a wave and greeting of her own. “I’m Jess. It’s nice to finally meet you.” 

* * *

As it turns out, Jess and Ben get along spectacularly. In fact, they haven’t run out of things to talk about. All three of them are book nerds, and it’s easy to fall into simple conversation. They barely even pay attention to the movie because they’re so focused on having side conversations, but they pay enough attention. 

“I think Diego would’ve liked the movie,” Vanya says as they walk out of the theatre.

Ben snorts, and Jess just looks between the two of them. Jess hasn’t met Diego, so she doesn’t know much about him other than what she’s heard, but it doesn’t seem like that was the type of movie he’d like. 

“No, hear me out. That movie showed the powerful bond between a mother and her child, and Diego’s a major mama’s boy.” 

Jess laughs and watches as a look of realisation crosses Ben’s face. Then, he also begins laughing. Jess racks her brain for any information about Diego; she looks for any reason he could like the movie. Finally, she remembers something Vanya’s mentioned many times before — Diego’s wardrobe choice. 

“I think he would really match the dark clothing vibe the main character had,” Jess says. 

For a moment Ben and Vanya are silent. As they stare at her and each other, Jess begins to fear she’s said the wrong thing, but then they start laughing. They’re laughing so hard that they actually have to hold onto each other. As Jess watches, she realises that this is exactly the kind of domestic bliss she’s been hoping for. When she was younger she dreamed of an epic adventure. That wasn’t unusual, many children who grew up reading adventure novels craved adventure, but it was just amplified since there were  _ actually  _ people with superpowers. As she grew older, she realised how horrible it was to send children to fight armed men. 

She gazes at Ben and Vanya sadly. Two children who were going to run away because they’re home life was so horrible, but their father had enough money to keep prying eyes away. She wishes she would’ve known what it was like sooner. She’s not sure what she would’ve done, but maybe she would’ve helped them run away. She could’ve given them some more money, and she could have convinced them to bring their siblings. There’s nothing to be done about it now, so all she can do is make them happy in the moment. 

“Hey. Do you guys want to do karaoke back at my place?” Jess asks. 

Ben and Vanya look at each other before simultaneously saying “Hell yeah.” 

They spend the night singing disney songs and songs from musicals. They watch a few more movies, and they play board games and games of never have I ever. Ben dramatically groans whenever Jess and Vanya even dare to touch each other’s hands which causes Vanya to playfully stick her tongue out. Somehow, it ends up as a full on pillow fight between 3 adults. 

Jess has taken refuge behind the couch, like a normal person, but Ben and Vanya are going all out. Ben has taken all the cushions from the couch, and he’s taken all the chairs from the dining table. He’s made a complete fort to hide behind. Vanya, on the other hand, is hiding behind nothing. This would normally be a bad move, except for the fact that she is glowing, and energy and pillows are swirling around her. Any pillow throne to her is absorbed into the whirlwind around her. 

Ben doesn’t say anything about it. At the very beginning, Ben called it cheating, but Vanya had just retorted that she was adapting, and since then he’s kept his mouth shut. Jess, realising this is way out of her league, begins backing away to the kitchen. Vanya notices, and a pillow goes flying her way. This causes Ben to notice, and he also throws a pillow at her. 

“I’m just trying to make smoothies!”

Ben stands up. Vanya stops glowing. The pillow fight is forgotten, and instead the attention of the siblings is solely focused on the prospect of getting smoothies. As Jess begins to get the smoothies ready, she tries to carry the conversation.

“Ben, do you have any social media?” She asks. 

As it turns out, Ben does not, in fact, have social media. Jess is reminded of when she found out Vanya didn’t have social media, and she helps Ben make Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr accounts much like she did with Vanya. They drink smoothies, take pictures of their smoothies, make sure to follow Klaus and Allison, and overall they enjoy the night. They might add the slightest bit of alcohol to the drinks, but it’s such a small amount that the worst thing that happens is them getting slightly tipsy. 

Jess and Vanya convince Ben to watch Anastasia with them, and they end up falling asleep on the couch. They wake up with an ungodly amount of texts and missed phone calls because apparently Vanya and Ben’s brother, Five, freaked out over the fact that Ben hadn’t come home last night. Jess isn’t exactly sure what The Commission is, but even as Ben talks on the phone with his family, it doesn’t ruin the fact that they had an amazing night. 

“Is your brother Five going to be okay?” Jess asks. 

“Yeah,” Vanya murmurs with a small smile. “He’ll be okay.” 

Jess doesn’t push the subject, and instead she leans into Vanya’s arms and decides to maybe get a bit more sleep. By the way Vanya’s breathing is evening out, Jess thinks she might have the same idea. With the early morning sun filtering in through the window, Jess thinks it might be one of the best morning’s she’s ever had. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: *intending to write about cute lesbians* 
> 
> Klaus: Write a scene about Benny and me. 
> 
> Me: *Does exactly that*


	3. In Time We Seize Infinity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jess meets the rest of Vanya's siblings + Thanksgiving!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's like, 11 PM here, so Thanksgiving is over. I hope everyone who celebrates it had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and to anyone who doesn't celebrate it, I hope you had an amazing day anyway. 
> 
> The song title is from "Infinity" by Johan Glossner.

Five is slightly suspicious of Vanya’s new girlfriend. This is understandable; afterall, the last time Vanya dated someone, she ended up dating a psychopath. It’s really no surprise that Five decided to investigate her new girlfriend. 

He goes to the library first. He does a basic search of the internet, goes through her social media, and, although she seems like a good person, he still digs deeper. He digs up her family history, her previous relationships, her college major, her jobs, and anything he can find about her. Everything seems to be normal, so the next course of action is him actually confronting her. 

He drives to the neighborhood, parks across the street from her address, and blinks into the house. The blue energy of spatial jumping surrounds him, and soon he’s in a nicely furnished room. He quickly moves to the kitchen and begins making a cup of coffee while he waits.

If Jess were asked what she expected to find when she walked into her house, her answer would not be a teenage boy drinking coffee. She jumps when she turns on the lights to see a teenage boy staring at her. She’s not sure what to do in this situation, so she does the first thing that comes to mind. 

“Are you lost?” She asks.

Evidently, it was the wrong thing to say. The Boy scowls at her, and in a flash of blue, he appears in front of her with a gun drawn out. Jess pales at the sight of a gun, and she wonders how she even got in this situation. The flash of blue is familiar, though, and now that she looks, she notices that the uniform is familiar too. 

“Are you Vanya’s brother?” She asks. 

He smirks, and somehow it makes Jess even more uneasy. The gun is slightly lowered though, so she thinks she might be making some progress. Judging by the fact that she’s at gunpoint, she thinks this must be Five.  _ (Of course, there’s also the fact that he teleported and looks 13, but that’s really not what Jess is thinking about right now).  _

“You’re smart,” He says. “But so was Vanya’s boyfriend.” 

Jess grimaces at the mention of Vanya’s ex-boyfriend. Every part of her burns with rage at the mere thought of Vanya’s ex. The thought that someone hurting Vanya makes Jess angry beyond comprehension. If she ever hurt Vanya, even unintentionally, Jess is sure she would be torn to pieces. 

“I take offense to you comparing me to the scum who had the nerve to hurt Vanya,” Jess says. 

Five looks at her with an unreadable expression, and Jess feels a bit uncomfortable, but she doesn’t look away. She  _ has  _ to prove to him that she would never do anything to hurt Vanya. Five puts the gun away, and Jess is too relieved to even question  _ why  _ he carries a gun with him. 

“Do you have anything stronger?” He asks while holding up his coffee mug. 

“You’re a kid!” Seeing Five’s expression turn dark, Jess quickly rephrases her statement. “Your body is that of a kid. It can’t be healthy to have alcohol.” 

Five glares at her, but there is no way she can give him alcohol and keep a good conscience. She also doesn’t want him to murder her, so she’s at a bit of a loss of what to do. She tries to think of anything she could give him, and then she remembers a drink she has in the fridge. 

“Do you like sparkling apple cider?” She asks. 

He looks at her as if she’s stupid, and it takes all her will power to not fidget under his gaze. Vanya always portrayed Five as someone who loves his family deeply. He would listen to her play piano, and, from Jess’ understanding, they were best friends. Sure, she’d heard he was a bit difficult to handle sometimes, but she hadn’t imagined  _ this.  _

“That doesn’t have alcohol,” He says slowly, as if he was talking to a child. 

“That’s the point,” She says in the exact same tone. 

He glares at her use of the tone, and Jess can’t help but wonder  _ when  _ she’ll stop messing up with Five. Thankfully, all her prayers are answered when two people walk through the front door. She turns, and sees the confused faces of Vanya and Ben. 

“Five?” Vanya asks. 

Five waves at them, and the two siblings slowly wave back. Jess sends a look of distress at her girlfriend. The two of them must have a psychic link because Vanya sighs, walks up to Jess, puts her arm around Jess, and looks at Five. 

“Stop terrorizing my girlfriend,” Vanya says. 

“Don’t worry Vanya. No blood was drawn,” Five says before disappearing in a flash of blue. 

Jess still isn’t completely sure about what just happened, but she desperately hopes the entire family isn’t this crazy. Though, judging from the stories she’s heard, it’s not going to be like any normal family meetings.

* * *

Meeting Diego is a complete accident. As in, they didn’t even recognize each other when they met. One would think that Jess would be able to identify a man with literal knives strapped to his chest as Vanya’s brother, but her mind just didn’t make the connection. 

It starts at a grocery store. There’s nothing unusual about the store. Jess notices Diego, not that she knew his name at the time, a few times because how could someone  _ not  _ notice the man wearing black spandex, and she, understandably, feels uneasy. At the same time, the way he looked between two items trying to see which one was better made him seem slightly less threatening, but Jess is sure one can never be too safe. 

Currently, she’s in the shampoo and conditioner aisle because Vanya has been staying at her house more often which has led to a rapid depletion of their hair products. The biggest problem is that Vanya’s favorite shampoo is some brand that always runs out of stock because her sister, Allison Hargreeves, promoted it recently. Apparently, Allison actually liked it and introduced it to Vanya. Jess would complain, except it smells really nice, and she herself has fallen victim to it’s charms. 

When she comes across it in the store, she sees that there’s only one bottle left. She reaches for it, and in some cliché play of fate, someone else reaches for it at the exact same time. It’s the spandex dude. Jess is just about ready to hand it over quietly to avoid being murdered, but then she notices that he already has two bottles in his cart. 

“I got here first,” He says whilst scowling at her. 

The look seems deadly, but the very fact that he’s buying this shampoo is enough to  discredit his dark and angry vibe. Of course, he could always be buying the shampoo to somehow use for murder, but she thinks the scenario is very unlikely.  _ (Then again, her girlfriend can literally control sound waves, and her girlfriend’s brother who looks thirteen did threaten her with a gun, so who is she to say what’s likely and unlikely?)  _

“But you already have two. I have none. By that logic, I should get this one,” Jess says. 

She smiles at him, and his expression falters for a second. She uses his split second of indecision to pull the shampoo away from him and puts it into her shopping basket. He notices and glares at her, but after her encounter with Five, it doesn’t really scare her. 

“Fine! I’m just here to buy it for my siblings anyway! They can deal without it!” He grumbles. 

Despite herself, Jess laughs. Yes, the man in front of her is intimidating, but the very fact that he seems to have normal sibling relationships makes him seem more human. It very well could be a ploy to get her to lower her guard, but she doesn’t see the harm in laughing in the middle of the grocery store. 

“Thank you for the shampoo kind sir. You’re a real hero,” She says it sarcastically, but Jess still notices how he straightens with an emotion akin to pride. 

A smile plasters itself on his face, and he squares his shoulders. The fluorescent lights above them shine onto his knives as he shifts which ones again brings unease to Jess. Her own reflection in the metal is obscured by the lighting, and she tries to not force her own omens onto the blurry image without a face. She really tries not to think about the knives, but the more she tries not to, the more her eyes drift, until she ends up counting the ones she can see.

_ 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8…  _

That’s all she can see, but she’s sure there’s more hidden. She wonders why he feels the need to wear such intimidating clothing. Surely if he were a serial killer, it would be more beneficial to blend in. How does he even walk around without impaling himself? It looks more like it’s a show of false bravery, or a cosplay, rather than an actual murderer outfit. Then again, perhaps it’s all an elaborate mind game. 

He shifts again, and the fluorescent lights shift directly into her eyes. She blinks rapidly and turns away her gaze. At the very least, her reflection is no longer covered up. Instead, it’s only distorted in the usual way reflections are. 

“You know,” The man begins. Her eyes fly up to his face, only to see an irritable smirk on his face. “If you’re really that interested in me, I’m sorry to say I’m taken.” 

Jess instinctively cringes. First of all, she’s also taken. Second of all, she’s not even that interested in boys; she’s a bisexual with a 99% interest in women. Third, there is no way she could ever be interested in this maybe-murderer but most likely emo-dork person. She really doesn’t want to continue this conversation, so she takes one last look at his knives because, really, who even  _ does  _ that, and she turns away. 

“I’m too gay and too cool to be interested in you, Spandex.” She says as she walks away. 

In hindsight, it probably wasn’t the  _ best  _ idea to speak up against him in case he  _ is  _ a murderer, but Jess is nothing if not confident. She may be a bit stupid and reckless, but she thinks it’s a small price to pay for confidence. Afterall, if she wasn’t confident, her and Vanya wouldn’t even be going out right now.

“It’s not spandex! It’s leather!” He calls back. 

She calmly ignores him and continues her shopping. The rest of her time in the store occurs without incident. She gets ingredients for the cake she and Vanya are planning to make, possibly with Ben, and, in a last minute decision, she decides to buy some bath bombs she knows Vanya likes. The bath bomb is black with dark purple swirls, and it’s glittery. It reminds Jess of a galaxy, but the amount of times that Vanya has referred to them as two stars orbiting one another has stuck with Jess. 

_ (Maybe the reason they both like the bath bomb so much is because they have cute space related nicknames for each other, but if the bath bomb reminds them of nights by the fire where they whispers sweetly to each other, then there really isn’t anything wrong with buying said bath bomb).  _

As she pays for her groceries, she notices Spandex Man, as she’s taken to calling him, in another aisle, but he doesn’t bother her, so she thinks nothing of it. Her fear only comes forth when she steps outside the store. The sun set on the walk here, but she had to stay later at work to help some students, so she didn’t get the chance to come to the store until now, and the plan was to bake the cake tomorrow. She’s never been one to let the darkness stop her from going out, but her car did break down the other day, and she has no money for the bus, so she’s just walking home in the darkness. 

Her unease grows as she walks closer to an alleyway next to the dark. There’s a fair amount of people around, but she knows that most people would just hurry away instead of help someone. She hears voices and the shuffle of shadows in the moonlight. Two drunk men stumble closer to her, and she tries to shift closer to some other people. It’s really not  _ that  _ late, and there are plenty of people around, but at the sight of the two men, many are walking briskly away or getting into their cars. Jess quickens her pace and tries to avoid them, but one catches her arm. 

Panic fills her veins. She thinks about the pepper spray in her pocket, and she tries to think of a way to set down the bags to get it without seeming suspicious. She has taken self defense training, but she’s not sure how well it’ll do against two men who loom above her. 

“Hey baby~” The one holding her arm slurs. 

“Let go of me.” She says firmly. She opens her mouth to try to catch some attention, maybe from the grocery store employees about 20 meters away, but a hand moves over her mouth. 

“Don’t be like that~” He says. 

She looks around for a distraction to allow her to get her pepper spray when her gaze catches the street light. In the distorted reflection, she sees Spandex Man exit the store. He turns in her direction, and Jess is sure she made a mistake talking to them. Obviously he’s teamed up with these guys, and they’re going to murder her or do something worse. 

Blood suddenly gushes from the guy’s throat. A knife is sitting in it, and her arm and mouth are freed from his grip. Blood has partially landed on her, but she’s more shocked by the dead, or dying, body in front of her. She’s vaguely aware of the other guy running away, but he too is stopped by a knife. 

“You okay?” A gruff voice asks. 

Spandex Man is standing next to her now, and the knives are  _ obviously not  _ for decoration. She’s not sure what to do about the dying person at her feet, but he calmly grabs one of her bags from her. He holds it in the same hand as the other, and he places his free hand on her shoulder blade. 

“We should leave before the police come,” He says. “I can drive you home.” 

Jess isn’t particularly trusting of him, but she doesn’t want to walk home after the incident, and he  _ did  _ save her, so she ends up walking with him. She still hasn’t fully processed what happened, but she’s alert enough to at least make conversation. 

“So the knives aren’t decoration,” She says to start. 

“Nope. I’m Diego Hargreeves aka The Kraken. You might’ve heard about me,” He says smugly. 

“Oh,” Jess says. “You’re Vanya’s brother, aren’t you?” 

This time, he looks at her suspiciously, but Jess just laughs. Of course this is how she would meet another one of Vanya’s brothers. Heaven forbid she have a normal interaction with the Hargreeves family. 

“How do you know Vanya?” Diego asks. 

“I’m Jess. Her girlfriend. Nice to properly meet you, Spandex Man,” She says. 

* * *

“You actually called him Spandex Man?” Vanya asks. “Like, to his face?” 

She’s standing near the oven, waiting for the two layers of cake to cook, while Jess is currently making the frosting and attempting to stop Ben from eating all of it. Jess has been telling the story of how she met Diego, and this is the first time either Vanya or Ben has spoken up since the story began. 

“I’m a very confident person,” Jess explains. 

Vanya shrugs in agreement, and Jess can’t help but smile. It’s a reaction that occurs often in Vanya’s presence no matter what Vanya does. For a moment, Jess stares at Vanya with a fond expression. Vanya shyly smiles back, and it’s a moment of such pure connection that everything is alright. Sadly, in that moment, Ben successfully steals some frosting. 

Jess rushes into action immediately. She smacks Ben with the rubber spatula, and smears chocolate frosting over his hoodie. Ben playfully cries out in protest, and from the corner of her eye, she can see Vanya crossing her arms. 

“Stay away from the frosting!” She scolds. 

The oven dings which causes their attention to shift. Ben helps Vanya take out the pans as Jess puts the last two layers in. They stack the green and yellow layers on top of the purple and blue layers. They’re making a pride cake, and after they eat some, Ben and Vanya are going to bring some pieces to the rest of the Hargreeves family. 

Ben does end up eating more frosting, and Jess continues to scold him, but the cake is almost perfect, and it’s a fun way to spend the day. 

* * *

Jess paces around her living room anxiously. She’s usually confident, but meeting a superstar can be kind of intimidating. The fact that the superstar was also a child superhero and her girlfriend’s sister make the situation even more nerve wracking. Allison Hargreeves is portrayed by the media as someone above anyone else. Sure, Jess has heard stories from Vanya that makes her seem more human, and everyone makes mistakes, but Jess still isn’t sure how she’s going to compare. 

Allison and Vanya are late to the lunch they’ve planned, but Jess is a bit behind on cooking, so maybe it will all work out. At least, the cooking will work out. There’s an infinite amount of things that could go wrong during lunch—Allison could not like the food, Jess could accidentally offend Allison, the house could catch on fire,— and Jess isn’t sure how to handle this type of worry. 

The oven dings, and Jess practically trips over herself in her effort to get there. She doesn’t want to envision a scenario where she burns the food and ruins the lunch before she even meets Allison. She opens the oven door in a rush, thermometer in hand, and in her carelessness, her hand leans against the oven rack, and she burns herself. 

She lets out a string of curses and hisses as she, as quickly as possible, gets an oven mitt on to take the food out while simultaneously trying to reach across her kitchen to put her hand under some cold water. Thankfully, the chicken she’d been cooking was perfect, even if her hand wasn’t. She ran her hand under cold water for a few more moments before placing the chicken on the already set table and grabbing the salad from the fridge. 

With the table ready, she takes the time to put ice in a bowl, fills it with water, and submerges her hand. It doesn’t seem too bad, but it will take at least a couple days to heal. Just as her hand is starting to become numb from the ice, thus erasing the pain, there’s a knock on the door. 

She removes her hand from the bowl and does her best to not sprint to the door. She opens it with her right hand on instinct, and she clenches her jaw at the sudden pain. Allison and Vanya are standing on the other side of the door. Allison seems almost too dressed up for a simple lunch, and Jess wonders if that’s a thing famous people do. Vanya on the other hand is wearing a white button down shirt with an orange sweater over it and black pants. She isn’t dressed up fancy, but she still makes Jess’ heart beat erratically in her chest. 

“Vanya! Allison! Thank you for coming!” Jess is aware that she’s a little flustered, but thankfully Allison doesn’t seem to notice too much. Jess reaches out her left hand for a handshake because she really  _ isn’t  _ going to use her right hand which is burned, and even though Allison looks mildly shocked at the use of the left hand, she doesn’t seem to mind. 

Jess opens the door wider to allow her guest passage into her household. Allison gives the house a brief look as she takes off her shoes, and Vanya gives Jess a quick peck on the lips. Jess feels some of the anxiety flee from her body. The pain in her hand is growing as the hand warms up, but Jess has decided to focus on the positives. 

“This looks so good. Did you cook all of it?” Allison asks, her eyes focused on the dining table. 

Jess smiles bashfully before nodding. Vanya catches her eye and gives her an encouraging smile which Jess hopes will be enough to get her through this interaction. She briefly turns her head and eyes the bowl of ice mournfully, but ultimately moves past it to join Allison and Vanya at the table. Now, she’s stuck sitting across from her amazing girlfriend and her girlfriend’s sister. 

The silence is very awkward and almost feels suffocating. Jess is sure it wasn’t this bad when she met Five and Diego, and one of them was threatening her! Either way, the only sounds that fill the room is the sound of silverware occasionally scratching against the plates. It’s annoying Jess, and she can’t help but wonder how it’s affecting Vanya who’s extra sensitive to every sound. 

  
“Did you burn your hand?” 

Jess looks at Vanya who’s staring at her hand in concern. Jess shrugs because, yeah she burnt herself, but it’s not the end of the world. She then sees that Allison is also looking at her hand in concern, and she feels oddly touched. 

“It’s just a small burn. It’ll be healed in a couple days,” Jess says. 

“I’m getting you some ice water,” Vanya announces.

She stands up from the table and walks to the kitchen. Jess can tell the exact moment she notices her old bowl of ice water because she stares in one spot. Vanya picks up the bowl, dumps it out, and begins to get more ice. Jess smiles in her direction, and doesn’t even realise she’s staring until Allison speaks up. 

“You must really love her,” she whispers. 

It’s a low tone, as if it would actually stop Vanya from hearing. Jess notices Vanya’s slight halt in movement. Her back is still turned away from them, but Jess is sure the water from the tap has overflown by now. Jess is a confident person, but so many things are making her question herself. She was worried about meeting Allison, and now she’s worried about admitting to the vulnerability of loving Vanya. She does love her—she loves her a lot. 

“Yeah,” she replied faintly. “I do.” 

Vanya turns off the tap quickly and spins around. Water splashes onto the floor from the movement. Vanya’s entire face is red. Her hands are slightly shaking, but not a lot more water falls from the bowl. The bowl is soon safely beside Jess’ hand and Vanya begins to walk back to her seat. Before she does, Jess uses her good hand to grab Vanya’s arm. Vanya stills for a moment before turning around. At first she avoids eye contact, but soon she does meet Jess’ eyes.

‘I love you,’ Jess mouths. 

Vanya takes a sharp inhale of breath. Somehow, she gets redder. Just as Jess is beginning to lose confidence, Vanya smiles back at her. 

‘I love you too,’ She mouths. 

Jess carefully lets go of Vanya’s arm and watches fondly as she moves to sit across from her. Allison is absolutely beaming at her sister in happiness, and Jess thinks she can understand the feeling. Even as she’s floating on the cloud of euphoria that has come with knowing her love is reciprocated, she can also see the big smile Vanya has. Jess hadn’t known it was possible to be so happy to see someone else happy. 

“You know, Klaus burned himself once. Well, multiple times, but this particular time happened while his jaw was still broken.” 

The subject change is sudden, but Jess doesn’t mind. Vanya looks happy to tell the story, Allison laughs at the memory, and Jess enjoys herself too. It’s a good segway into a bigger conversation, and the tense atmosphere lightens up. Soon, Jess realises how easy it is to laugh and joke with Allison. The previous words aren’t forgotten. Jess and Vanya affectionately tap each other’s legs under the table, and Jess feels like the day has just become brighter. 

* * *

“You want to meet Jess?” Vanya asks over the phone. 

When she’d been called while in the middle of packing up her things in preparation to move to Jess’ house, she wasn’t initially going to pick it up. She’d thought about it for a bit, and she eventually decided it was best to answer it rather than risk missing the news of a second apocalypse. She hadn’t necessarily expected to hear Luther on the other end, not that she minded. They might not be the closest siblings, but they’re still family, and Vanya’s always happy to talk to her family. At least, when they’re not in the middle of (another) fight. 

_ “Yeah. Five made me a normal body, wow is that weird to say, and I think I’m confident enough to meet her,”  _ Luther says from over the phone.

Vanya smiles sympathetically, even if he can’t see her. She knows he had a lot of issues with body image, and while she wishes he learned that none of them cared about him any less, she’s glad to see him feel confident in his own body again. 

“That’s great Luther! I’m so happy for you. I know you’ve wanted this ever since Five brought it up,” Vanya says. “I’ll arrange something.” 

* * *

“Hi Luther! It’s nice to finally meet you,” Jess says. 

The July sun dances on Jess’ skin. She’s glad she wore a tank top and shorts, but while they allow the air to brush against her skin, they also leave her skin exposed to the unrelenting heat. Summer days can be so torturous that sometimes it gets to the point where she just wants to lay by a fan in her house and eat ice cream. She would have been doing that today, although this year with Vanya, but today she was going to meet Luther. She thinks she can make an exception since she’s meeting Vanya’s brother. 

Luther is tall. So tall, that Vanya looks tiny as she stands next to him. Jess has always known Vanya’s short, she teases her relentlessly about it, but compared to Luther she  _ really  _ looks small. Jess finds it funny and kind of cute. That’s not where the differences end. Vanya is softly, and almost shyly, smiling at her while Luther looks awkward and lost. Luther is wearing a tanktop like she is, but Vanya is wearing a full long sleeved button up shirt even in this weather. Jess isn’t sure she’ll ever understand. 

“Nice to meet you,” Luther says. 

They shake hands briefly, and then Jess holds up her other hand. She presents the basket to them, and playfully pulls away when Vanya reaches for it. There’s a gust of wind that pushes Jess closer to Vanya, and she gasps in mock surprise before laughing. Poor Luther looks completely lost whilst watching the display. 

“I’m ready for the picnic!” Jess announces. 

“Please tell me you made your meatballs,” Vanya says. 

Jess grins and winks at her. From there on, their conversation is mostly small talk. They walk to the park with Jess and Luther giving each other pleasant formalities, and with Jess and Vanya occasionally semi-flirting with each other. Jess begins to worry that Luther will become uncomfortable, so she tries to think of a topic they could talk about. The idea hits her when they reach the park. 

Back in high school, Jess had taken an astronomy class. It had never been a big passion, but she found herself a bit curious, so she took it. It turned out to be one of the best decisions in her life. She was entranced by different astronomical phenomena. She still firmly believes Pluto is a planet, but the astronomy class made her realise that all the dwarf planets should be counted as planets. Jess remembers looking up at the sky and realising that all those glittering specks of light were actually massive stars, some of which are bigger than the sun, that are so incredibly old. She found herself enamored with the beauty of the galaxy.

“You went to the moon, right?” Jess asks. 

Luther looks awkward; his blue eyes move around the surrounding area rapidly while consistently avoiding her gaze. The more she looks at his eyes, the more it reminds her of the earth’s atmosphere. Jess has always noticed people’s eyes. Vanya’s eyes are a soft brown which lights up like stars when she’s happy, and they turn a brilliant white like a star going supernova when she gets angry and lets her powers shine through. Perhaps the eyes really are the window to the soul. It’s either that, or she read way too many books romanticising eyes as a child. 

“Well, I enjoy astronomy. I’m assuming you do,” Jess continues. 

“Yeah. I do,” He answers, finally meeting her eyes. 

“Well, I think it’s time we have the age old debate.” 

Jess pauses for dramatic effect, and she relishes in Luther’s lost look. Vanya also looks slightly confused, and the two siblings share a borderline alarmed look. Jess grins at them. She straightens as she prepares to announce the debate in an effort to make the following question seem like the most important thing in the world (which it is). 

“Is Pluto a planet?” 

For a moment, Luther and Vanya look dumbfounded. Vanya looks at her as if the answer is obvious, and Luther seems to not understand why it’s even a question in the first place. Jess desperately hopes they don’t agree, but if they do, then she’ll just have to take the stance of the opposing side in order to insight chaos. 

“Obviously!” 

“Of course not.” 

They answer at the same time. Instantly Vanya and Luther turn to face each other, and their faces show varying levels of shock. Vanya seems  _ appalled  _ to learn that her brother doesn’t think of Pluto as a planet. It takes every part of Jess’ self control to stop herself from laughing. The chaos may seem counter productive, but she’s always found that these sorts of conversations allow the talking to last until eventually the subject is changed, and suddenly everyone is comfortable with each other. 

“Brilliant! Let’s discuss!”

* * *

Like Diego, Jess hadn’t planned to meet Klaus. It happens when she’s at a coffee shop. It’s a Starbucks, but only because she isn’t anywhere near her favorite local shop, and it began pouring 5 minutes ago. She orders a pumpkin spice latte before settling at one of the tables. She grabs her laptop from her bag, and continues to work on her lesson plan for the next school year. The warmth of the drink soothes her, but it in no way makes the work more bearable. 

The sound of the door opening draws her eyes away from her screen. It’s a simple habit, but this time she actually does recognize one of the people walking through the door. He’s soaked, and Jess doesn’t think a leather jacket and a hoodie is the best outfit for the weather, but he seems happy enough. His eyes scan the shop. Their eyes meet, and he somehow smiles even more. She waves at him. 

He and his companion buy drinks while whispering to each other. They gesture in her direction a few times, so she’s sure they’re talking about her. Ben says something to the person he’s with, and they clap their hands together in excitement. Soon, they’re walking over to her booth. 

“Mind if we—” 

Ben is completely blocked off when his friend slides into the chair across from her. They lean over the table and grin at her. Their hair is slightly wavy and reaches their neck. Their eyes seem to shine, but it’s more in a broken glass type of way, and Jess can already tell great sadness lies beneath them. 

“So you’re Vanny-dearest’s girlfriend. I’m her brother, Klaus, I’m sure you’ve heard of me. I can’t believe it’s taken  _ this  _ long for me to finally meet you.” 

It’s a bit hard to keep up with his words, but she thinks she understands what he was saying. Ben sighs from beside her, and takes a seat next to her. Klaus pouts at him, but she slightly pushes her laptop forward, so Klaus moves over one seat to be across from Ben. The seating arrangement allows her to continue working on her syllabus, but she thinks she’ll be able to continue talking as well. 

“I’ve been waiting to meet you. I’m glad the day has finally arrived where I get to be honoured with your presence,” She says. 

He dramatically gasps before attempting to bow. The table makes it a bit difficult, but she still finds herself laughing while Ben shakes his head fondly. Klaus smiles at their delight, and his happiness is so contagious that they fall into what seems like an endless loop of joy. Jess can already tell that Klaus is a beacon lighting up the world around him. 

“The honour is mine, m’lady,” He says very seriously before breaking out into another grin. 

Jess laughs again, and she can already tell that she and Klaus are going to get along spectacularly. She’s so distracted by her laughter that she almost doesn’t notice Ben reaching over for her latte. She pulls it away from him and glares. She places it on the other side of her laptop, but in a swift motion Klaus reaches over, grabs it, and takes a sip. 

“Wow. You just met me, and you’re already ganging up on me with Ben.” Jess’ voice holds a slight amount of overly dramatic sadness. 

Klaus shrugs, and Ben simply leans over her shoulder to look at what she’s writing. Water drips from his hair and onto her shirt, so she slightly leans away from him. He turns to look at her at the sudden movement, and for a moment they just stare at each other. He softly smiles and leans back, but his cheeks are stained a pale red. 

“Sorry, sometimes I forget people will notice when I look over their shoulder,” He says sheepishly. 

Jess smiles kindly. She can’t imagine how hard it must’ve been dying and then readjusting to life. She thinks he’s doing great, but she understands it can be easy to slip into old habits. Not for the first time in her life, she finds herself wishing she could have gotten those kids out of the house, but she was so blinded with the fancy presentation they displayed when they went on the screen. She’d cried when The Horror died, but she didn’t  _ really  _ know him. She was sad about the death of a child, yes, but they always seemed like so much more. They were on a pedestal in the mind of the public, and everyone mourned the death through fogged glass. Now, when she looks at her friend, all she can feel is an aching cavern in her chest when she thinks about his death as a child. Reginald Hargreeves truly was a sick man. 

She leans forward and hugs him. She leans her head against his shoulder, and she doesn’t even care about the fact that she’s getting wet because she can feel his movement with each breath he takes. She looks at Klaus and smiles, and he must understand because he comfortingly taps her foot with his underneath the table. 

“What are you writing?” Ben asks.

He, thankfully, doesn’t move out of the embrace. He’s kind like that. She’s seen him making cutting comments about his siblings, but it’s never beyond sibling fun. From what she’s seen and heard, the Hargreeves siblings all hold deep love for one another within them, even if they have trouble showing it. 

“The syllabus for the upcoming school year,” She says.

She untangles herself from Ben. She refocuses on her screen and takes another sip from her latte which is now growing cold. Ben hums in response, and Klaus looks impossibly curious about such a mundane thing. He leans forward, and his presence is just so encompassing that Jess’ eyes are naturally drawn to him. 

“Right!” He says as he quickly leans back in his chair. “You’re a music teacher.” 

Jess smiles and nods her head. It can be tiring, but she loves teaching. She loves seeing her students when they’re so passionate about an instrument, and even though she’s only really good with woodwind instruments, she likes to help with music theory whenever she can. Her students are a light in her life, and she’ll never forget the looks on some of her student’s faces when Vanya was able to help with some of the string instruments. 

“You play the flute, right?” When Jess nods, Klaus continues forward. “You, Vanny, and I should perform together. You can play the flute, Vanya will play the violin, and I’ll play the triangle because I know for a fact I can do that better than Vanya can.” 

Ben snorts beside her, and Jess finds herself looking between them in confusion. Their eyes widen when she realises that she  _ doesn’t  _ know the story, and soon matching conspiratory grins bloom on their faces. 

“Sit back and relax, Jess. This is one hell of a story,” Ben says. 

* * *

Jess looks at the imposing doors of the Academy and reminds herself to breathe deeply. She’s met Vanya’s family, so there really isn’t anything she should be worried about, but she’s also never been with all of them at the same time. She looks down at the pumpkin pie she brought before shifting her attention to Vanya. Vanya gives her a comforting smile. 

Already, Jess can hear loud talking from inside the house. Laughter spreads outwards, and it slightly eases her nerves. Taking a deep breath, she and Vanya step through the doors of the house. She feels a bit awkward since they didn’t knock, but she knows at least half of the Hargreeves siblings stay at the house full time, and the other half stay half of the time. Jess herself has found herself staying the night at the mansion. For a while Jess had been confused as to why they all felt so at home at their childhood home, but Vanya explained that they renovated. 

The laughter and chatter doesn’t stop upon their entry, but a couple people poke their heads into the room. Ben grins at them, and a soft look passes over Five’s face when he sees Vanya. The two of them walk over to greet them, and soon the four of them are entering the kitchen to leave the food. 

Allison, Klaus, Luther, and Grace are all there. A young girl who must be Allison’s daughter suddenly jumps in front of the group and launches herself onto Five. To Jess’ mild surprise, Five accepts the tackle-hug readily. Jess smiles at the sight, but she soon turns her attention away in favor of setting the pumpkin pie down on the counter, along with her bag of drinks that she’s been carrying on her arm. 

Allison sends her a brief smile before walking to her daughter and Five while Klaus instantly attaches himself to Ben. Luther waves at them, and Grace walks over and begins helping them to put the drinks in the fridge. Her blonde curls look as perfect as ever, but instead of the 50s type outfit she was wearing when Jess last saw her, she’s wearing jeans, a white shirt, and a brown cardigan. Jess thinks this look suits her more, though she still looks like she belongs in a magazine. 

“It’s so nice to see you dears. Now we’re just waiting for Diego and Eudora,” Grace says with her perfect smile intact. 

Jess mentally cheers at the knowledge that they’re not the last ones here, and she’s actually very excited to rub that fact in Diego’s face. After their initial meeting, they’ve seen each other a few times —either they’re with Vanya and maybe more of the siblings, or they just happen to see each other in public— and every time they’ve fallen into a form of banter which mostly consists of trying to one-up the other. It’s fun, and Jess can safely say that Diego is one of the sibling’s she’s most comfortable with. Really, she’s very comfortable with all of them, except for Five because every time they’re alone he stares at her like she’s a potential threat, but they all have varying degrees of friendship levels. 

Jess’ eyes trail to the bottle in her hands. They hadn’t supplied alcoholic drinks because Klaus has been sober for nearly a year and a half now, but that didn’t stop others from bringing sodas and other drinks. Someone even brought sparkling water, and even though Jess doesn’t like that type of water, it still warms her heart to see so many people contribute to the dinner. Jess’ mother lives with her aunt and uncle up in Canada now, and she knows her cousins will be going there for Thanksgiving. She is going to FaceTime them later, but this year she decided to join Vanya with her family. 

Vanya nudges her shoulder and gestures to the bottle in her hands. Jess refocuses on said bottle before smiling. Considering what she’s about to do, it may not be too much of a surprise that her and Five aren’t the closest, but she thinks it’s worth it anyway. She stands up from her crouched position in front of the fridge and holds up the bottle so that when she gets Five’s attention, it’ll be the first thing he sees. 

“Hey Five! Look what I brought for you!” 

He turns, and as soon as he sees the bottle of Sparkling Cider in her hand, he snarls. Allison’s daughter—Claire?—notices as well, and her eyes absolutely light up. She runs over to where Jess is standing, and the smile on her face is infectious. Her brown eyes seem to hold entire universes in them, and Jess may not be officially a part of the family, but she already knows she would kill anyone who hurts this child. 

“I love that drink!” She exclaims. “Uncle Five! You need to try some!!” 

Jess smirks at Five quickly before turning back to Claire. Her face softens, and she instantly knows why Five is so calm around his niece. She’s a bundle of joy—the expression may be cliché, but Jess thinks it fits perfectly. 

“Can I have some?” She asks. 

“Well, you’re going to have to ask your mom,” Jess says back. 

Claire’s eyes widen in understanding, and she goes running to her mom. Jess watches with a small smile before grinning at Five. He glares at her, but he’s not pointing a gun at her, so she thinks their relationship might be improving. She winks at him, and he scowls and looks away. Vanya laughs from beside her. 

“Auntie Jess! Mommy said I could have a small glass!” 

Claire runs full speed toward her, but Jess can’t even process that because Claire just called her  _ Auntie Jess.  _ Her heart swells, and she swears there are tears in her eyes. She’s never thought of being an aunt, but she never imagined loving a child like this, so maybe she’ll fit into the role just fine. 

“Are you crying?” 

Jess rolls her eyes, and looks up. Diego raises an eyebrow at her, and she has to restrain herself from flipping him off because Claire doesn’t deserve to see that. Instead, she does something very mature; she sticks her tongue out at him. Diego lets out a surprised laugh, but Jess still hasn’t forgotten her earlier excitement. 

“At least I wasn’t the last one here, Spandex Man!” She calls back. 

“Fu—” His eyes catch Allison’s. Actually, everyone in the room glares at him. 

She turns away from him. She opens the cabinet, gets a small glass down, and proceeds to look for the bottle opener she’s  _ sure  _ she brought. She can hear Diego chuckling, and it’s only making her more anxious. A swiss army knife lands right in front of her, and when she turns to see where it came from, she finds Diego smirking at her. She rolls her eyes, but accepts the offering anyway. 

Once she gives the glass to Claire, Diego and who she assumes to be his girlfriend walk over. Diego is  _ still  _ wearing all his knives, and she wonders why he decides to dress like that every day. Surely he has some awareness of how intimidating he looks. She rolls his eyes at him, and instead focuses on the woman with him. She’s beautiful, but not as beautiful as Vanya. Then again, Jess is probably very biased. It doesn’t change the fact that the woman standing in front of her looks like a literal goddess. 

“I’m Eudora. I’m Diego’s girlfriend,” She introduces herself. 

“I’m Jess, Vanya’s girlfriend, and I am so happy to meet another soul who has been dragged into the chaotic mess known as the Hargreeves siblings,” Jess says. 

Eudora laughs even as Diego makes his protests known. Vanya leans against her and laughs as well. Diego looks away and pretends to be mad, but Jess can see a smile threatening to take over his face. Eudora obviously notices, and she grabs his arm and pulls him forward. 

“Everyone! The food is ready!” 

Grace calls them, and sure enough, the table is all set. It seems like thanksgiving is ready to properly begin. 

* * *

Vanya laughs at something Jess said as they wait in front of a red light. The night is dark, but the city never sleeps, and the illumination caused by normal city lights reflects on the windows. Vanya thinks there’s something so otherworldly about being in the city at night. She’s always thought this—there was always something so different when she and her siblings snuck out to Griddy’s in the dead of night. The city is alive in a different way, and it’s almost as if the veil between seperate planes of existence is becoming unraveled in these hours. 

The Thanksgiving dinner went well, and though they were offered a place to stay at the mansion, Jess and Vanya decided to return to their own home instead. They’re currently planning on watching a quick movie before heading to bed. 

Jess reaches over and grabs her hand. Vanya smiles at the contact, and she interlinks their fingers. Jess smiles softly, and Vanya thinks it’s moments like these that truly make the world brighter. The light turns green, and soon they're moving. They’re nearing the intersection when Vanya and Jess begin talking about the dinner. They laugh over Klaus flinging the gravy to the other side of the table, and they recount the experience of watching Diego barely react in time to make it curve in just the right way so that it would end up back on the table. Needless to say, it was quite a scare. 

“Claire is precious. I would kill for her,” Jess says. 

Vanya opens her mouth to reply, but her senses are instantly overwhelmed with the loud noises of cars honking and terrified screeches of onlookers. Her vision is painted in white, and not in the same way that her powers affect her. Time seems to go impossibly slow, and for once in her life she’s panicking too much to have the focus to call upon her powers. She feels helpless. 

“JESS!” She manages to scream. 

She can see Jess turn her head, but it’s like slow motion. Jess curses and moves to do  _ something _ —whether that be slam on the accelerator or the brakes, Vanya doesn’t know—but there’s nothing to be done. The sound of metaal crunching fills her ears, and suddenly time is moving normally once more. 

Her entire body is jerked harshly to the right, and she can hear a sickening crack from where her head collides with her window. Vanya isn’t sure if her own head is spinning, or if the car is actually flipping because all she can focus on is the blood and the pain, and she wonders if Jess is okay. When they stop moving, she’s hanging upside down, but she feels so tired, and she might have a concussion, but she really doesn’t have the willpower to keep her eyes open. 

In the middle of a smoldering car wreck, Vanya closes her eyes. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 👀👀👀
> 
> Well, that happened. This chapter took FOREVER to write, but it's done now! Just one more installment in the series!!

**Author's Note:**

> Yay! Vanya has a girlfriend and they're adorable! 
> 
> So, anyway, hopefully the next 2 chapters will be up soon, and then I'll try to get the 5th and final part of the series out as soon as possible.


End file.
